The weakened marine mammal was trapped in the lock. The animal, weighing 800 kilograms, was pulled out of the water with the help of a crane.
In a dramatic rescue operation, French forces pulled the lost beluga whale out of the water in the Seine. The marine mammal, four meters long and weighing around 800 kilograms, was lifted in a net with the help of a crane from the lock in the municipality of Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne, in northern France, on Wednesday night. , as reported by journalists from the AFP news agency on the spot.
Several vets immediately took care of the beluga whale. In the next step, the animal will be taken to a seawater basin by truck. The complex rescue operation with dozens of emergency services began on Tuesday night, just before 10 pm.
The beluga whale was first spotted on the Seine on Tuesday of last week and has been trapped in a lock in Saint-Pierre-La-Garenne since Friday, about 70 kilometers from Paris – 130 kilometers from the Seine estuary. , in the English Channel. According to experts, the animal cannot survive for long in warm, fresh water. Beluga whales typically live in arctic waters off the coasts of Russia, Alaska and Canada.
Donations raised for rescue operation
Animal rights activists therefore developed the idea of taking the marine mammal out of the river and transporting it to a seawater tank to feed it and then releasing it into the sea. The interest and willingness to donate in France is enormous. Among others, the marine protection organization Sea Shepherd collected donations for the rescue operation.
In recent days, several attempts to feed the emaciated and weakened animal have been unsuccessful. According to experts, your lack of appetite could be a sign of illness.
According to experts, it is only the second time that a beluga whale has been lost in France. The first time a fisherman saw a whale in their nets in the Loire estuary was in 1948.
(APA/DPA)